


preparation of a lifetime

by ikonisch (discordinparadise)



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: M/M, also hanbin is terrified of hoseok's best friend, also warning it gets deep at times, and a genius, and an Idiot, binhwan are so in love, bts make an appearance with angel jung hoseok, chanwoo does baseball!, donghyuk's student body president holla, hanbin loves his friends so much, hanbin pov, hanbin's a cutie pie, jiwon does basketball! so does hanbin but meh none of this is important, junbob are the cutest morons istg, oh and also making out because no-one can stop the sexy fairy, there's just a lot of cuteness and mess and fluff in this really, winter formal time!, would do anything for them, yunchan fall in that category too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-06 12:39:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16387907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/discordinparadise/pseuds/ikonisch
Summary: Winter Formal To-Do List!i. find the perfect outfitii. ask the beautiful boyfriend to be your date even though you made a silent agreement not to do that but you're a badass rebel, yes you areiii. watch your best friends being the hot messes they are as they try to ask each other to be their dateiv. bask in the fact that you're not going alone because you have GAMEv. get donghyuk a date he deserves. this is happening or you're a trash human beingvi. sit back and relax with wine, music, and a gorgeous boy before the storm approachesvii. lead all your friends through the madness of formal preparing because they're all imbeciles!viii. have the best night you could possibly have to mark the end of so much distress and amazementIt was time for Hanbin's preparation of a lifetime or rather, it was just getting ready for a winter formal and everyone's being a little dramatic.





	preparation of a lifetime

**one: find the perfect outfit**

"Tell me why the fuck it looks like a unicorn's thrown up on you."

Hanbin's mouth fell open in offence as he heroically threw an end of a fluffy scarf around his shoulder. "I think I look _gorgeous._ "

Jinhwan still looked disgusted. "Well, objectively, subjectively, every single ectively there is, you're wrong."

"I think you're just jealous that I can pull this off," Hanbin retaliated, blowing a kiss at Jinhwan as he tried to sashay (he would clearly put all models to shame) back into the dressing room and Jinhwan rolled his eyes, batting the kiss away dismissively.

"This?" Hanbin asked a moment later, jumping out of the room wearing brown dungarees and a yellow shirt and Jinhwan stared at him flatly.

"All of that screams more repulsion that you'd ever know."

"Got it."

So Hanbin kept trying, soaring out of the room in a fluorescent jumpsuit that Jinhwan retched at, twirling out in a piece of clothing that was...literally just ruffles on top of ruffles and Jinhwan cackled when Hanbin struck a spectacular pose of absolute modelesque sincerity. And to be honest, Hanbin wasn't doing this for himself at this point, it was just to cheer Jinhwan up since he had been worried ever since the elder had walked into their apartment having almost torn the front door of its hinges. Scary. Quite cool. But worrying, and Hanbin cared.

"You don't look half bad," Jinhwan said approvingly once Hanbin finally walked out in black jeans and a baby blue dress shirt that had cuts at the shoulder and the side to reveal small teases of skin and tattoo. The sleeves went past Hanbin's hands a little and they weren't buttoned up, but maybe it seemed better that way. "See what can happen when you clean up well with my help? A little styling and you'd look like an idol."

"But I look too _normal,_ " Hanbin whined loudly, jostling about on the spot in annoyance, so Jinhwan got up and walked into the dressing room before emerging with a rainbow shawl. He regarded Hanbin with his inner-fashionista eye before he wrapped the shawl around Hanbin's waist once (which also succeeded in tugging Hanbin closer to him), tying it at the side so the ends flowed out of the knot and downwards, and then he grinned.

"Satisfied?"

Hanbin nodded even though he was mostly enchanted by Jinhwan's smile. "Absolutely."

"For the record," Jinhwan mumbled, sounding a little reluctant as he rested his hands on Hanbin's hips, twisting his fingers gently in the rainbow fabric, "you look beautiful."

Hanbin smiled a little shyly, lowering his gaze as he decided to disregard the compliment for now. "What's wrong, hyung?"

"Nothing, nothing..."

"So it's something small, then. Was it a gay joke? I don't know how on earth those could bother you when you're dating the _biggest_ twink ever-"

Hanbin yelped when Jinhwan hit his arm quite hard. "Don't call yourself a twink!"

"Why not?!"

"I mean, for one thing, you're bisexual-"

"I'm _you-_ sexual, get your facts straight. Also people on this planet can be mean and deserve pain so next time, just sock them in the face a little bit, yeah? It's very easy, you just gotta raise your fist like _pow-_ "

"It wasn't a gay joke."

"I knew that, yes."

"I was just nervous. Nervous to tell you something. I'm not angry or anything but it's hard for my emotions to differentiate themselves, I guess," Jinhwan said a little bitterly and Hanbin frowned, slinging his arms around Jinhwan's neck.

"Tell me. It'll be fine."

Jinhwan nodded warily, pushing himself up a little to kiss Hanbin softly and Hanbin kissed back, his eyes slipping shut as their noses brushed together and sparks sizzled on the tips of their tongues. Hanbin kept his eyes closed when they broke apart, their bodies still entwined as he rested his head against Jinhwan's and almost didn't catch the small whisper of, "I love you."

Hanbin's eyes flew open and he was suddenly taken by such an overwhelming amount of softness and endearment because was _that_ the thing that Jinhwan was so worried about telling him? If so, there was literally no-one cuter than Jinhwan.

"I realised it today. That I love you. I really do," Jinhwan murmured, curling his hands into Hanbin's shirt tightly. "You're beautiful, you're caring, you're genius yet dumb but so cute, you're stupidly humble and you do so much. You work so hard. Look at this, Hanbin, this is the first time we've been out together in ages."

"When did you realise?"

"When you called me earlier to ask if we could do this, pick out your outfit. You already sounded so tired but excited and it was clear that you'd planned this out since your whole life is like a schedule, and you were talking about wanting to look like the belle of the ball but not really because that's very cliché and also you're not a girl so it wouldn't work-"

"Very valid points I made there, but I didn't get to say that I would therefore like to reiterated as the _beau_ of the ball."

"-and it, it just hit me. I love this crazed quail-boy who I don't understand sometimes. But look, I didn't want to make this a big deal or like some kind of announcement, I just...I just wanted you to know and you do know, now, so that's cool. Very cool."

"You're spiralling," Hanbin said fondly and Jinhwan scrunched up his face a little, looking away as he muttered, "Shut up, I know."

Hanbin stayed there for a little while longer, staring at Jinhwan before he broke out of the elder's hold and pulled the shirt over his head carelessly, walking back towards the dressing room. "I think I'm gonna buy this shirt but...I won't wear it to the formal 'cause like, to be fair, I don't think it's, well, formal enough. I'm wondering, should we call it a night or keep looking? I want to get it done, but I also need to look absolutely bonkers great and I don't know if one day is enough to make the magic happen."

"Mm, I agree. I personally think you've left this too late."

"Oi! What happened to you being all sweet and in love with me?!" Hanbin yelped as he poked his head out of the curtains and Jinhwan grinned, leaning forward so he could peck Hanbin's lips and laugh at the younger flushing pink and ducking back into the room.

"I've got the rest of my life to spoil you with love, I gotta have a few jabs at you to keep things exciting."

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN-" 

 

\-- 

 

**two: ask the beautiful boyfriend to be your date even though you made a silent agreement not to do that but you're a badass rebel, yes you are**

Hanbin was overly jittery as he ran circles around Jiwon who was simply sitting down in his chair, unbothered with life with one leg crossed over the other as he scrolled through instagram. He looked up every now and then whenever Hanbin made a noise or to make sure that Hanbin wasn't about to pass out, but he was calm otherwise.

"So, let's go through the rules," Hanbin said firmly, suddenly coming to a stop and Jiwon regarded him lazily. "If I mess up, it's okay because he loves me. If he says yes, then, well, good because it'd be quite embarrassing if he doesn't? But _if_ he doesn't, that basically means he's broken up with me and this whole boyfriend thing was a delicate ruse and I am, ultimately, meant to be single forever which does, at length, make sense. Okay, _again-_ "

"You missed one."

"What?!"

"Yeah, the one that says 'I'm also a big fat idiot who's stressing about asking my own boyfriend out'."

Jiwon snickered as Hanbin tried to fly-kick him, missing on purpose but it was still drastically close. "This is a legitimate worry! Stop unlegitimising my worries, you _monster-_ "

"It'll be fine, you know that! I don't even know why you're bothering to-"

"Because it's _standard protocol_ and I've never been able to ask someone to a dance before and I really want to...and you've got no room to judge, you've got your own problems!"

"Yeah but I'm very close to giving up all hope with mine so that's different," Jiwon said nonchalantly, looking up at Hanbin who was frowning at him. "What? It's just the truth."

"No, idiot, you're going to live and prosper, how many times have I _told_ you this-"

"You're such a nerd."

"-and I think you're very capable of doing literally anything except for the fact that you're lazy and cowardly and stupid. Thank you for listening, I hope this helped."

Jiwon looked very sulky now, burrowing deeper into his hoodie but him and Hanbin quickly got distracted when laughter pricked their ears, and they turned around to see Junhoe and Jinhwan walking towards them, arm in arm and chatting animatedly about something that was probably stupid but they seemed happy which was all that really mattered, and Hanbin's heart was full. Also it was rather funny to see Jinhwan almost trip over every step he took because Junhoe was _far_ too tall for him to link arms with but he was persevering.

"Time for me to become invisible," Jiwon squeaked as he ducked his head under his hoodie, sitting completely still and Hanbin had to try very hard not to laugh at him as he greeted Jinhwan with a kiss on the cheek. Jinhwan grinned at him, about to say something before he saw Jiwon and raised an eyebrow.

"Is there an explanation for this?"

"Nah, he's just wilding."

"What?"

"I don't know either."

"That _is_ Jiwon-hyung, right?" Junhoe asked unsurely, tilting his head to the side and Hanbin almost face-palmed.

" _No,_ Junhoe, because that tuft of purple hair sticking out so clearly belongs to a troll-"

"HEY!" Jiwon yelped, instantly pulling his hoodie down as he jumped to his feet. He looked so psychotic with his messy hair, skewed glasses and angry look that Hanbin really wanted to roll over laughing but then that might lead to Jiwon actually murdering him. So instead, he just hid behind Junhoe and so then Jiwon had no choice but to look at the one person he had wanted to avoid and, just like Hanbin had wanted, Jiwon froze up.

"Oh, I wanted to ask you something," Junhoe said all of a sudden and Jiwon nodded robotically, still not saying anything. "If you have a date for the formal, I gotta know who they are beforehand because I probably won't know now and I don't want things to be awkward on the day. Like literally, one of my friends introduced their date to me and I didn't know her name and she cursed at me, later found out that she was the head of the prefects but how was _I_ supposed to know that?"

"What? But you break more rules than anyone because you don't even know what the rules are," Jinhwan pointed out and Junhoe nodded vigorously.

"Exactly! Girl's doing a terrible job!"

"Well, you don't need to worry because Jiwon-hyung hasn't and probably never will have a date," Hanbin chirped, patting Junhoe's back. Junhoe straightened up at the words, suddenly interested as he looked at Jiwon who was wincing in embarrassment.

"Oh! That's good. No- no wait, I didn't mean it like that, I meant that I just- sorry..."

Hanbin was snickering behind his hand when Jiwon started turning red, and then a hand was resting on the small of Hanbin's back. "Hey, let's leave the idiots alone."

"Aw, but me and Jiwon-hyung were conspiring an _elaborate plan,_ " Hanbin complained but he still let Jinhwan tug him away as he waved at Jiwon who looked horrified by the fact that they were leaving and Junhoe didn't even seem to notice. "Though, for the record, Junhoe'll probably be better company since I ended up insulting hyung half the time. But I can't conspire with you..."

"Why not?"

"Because I love you," Hanbin replied happily, pulling Jinhwan close to him before twirling both of them around and the elder snorted in disbelief, hugging Hanbin's waist tightly.

"You're being evasive."

"Do you know that a synonym for evasive is enigmatic? Do you know how cool that sounds?!"

Jinhwan looked up at Hanbin once, ridiculously, exasperatedly fond before he broke eye-contact, shaking his head. "Fine, don't tell me but let's at least go home. I've got a good few movies waiting for me and hopefully a boyfriend who can stay with me for one of them, maybe...? I mean if you can't then that's fine-"

"You're right, I can't."

"Ah, okay."

"Because I want to always have time for you, meaning I'll stay for two," Hanbin replied, gaze soft as he watched Jinhwan's slouched shoulders rise a little in amazement. "Is that alright?"

"Is that- of _course_ it is, you little-"

Hanbin kissed Jinhwan just in time, grinning into the kiss when Jinhwan just fell pliant against him and tugged him closer. They really had each other wrapped around their fingers.

 

 

  

It was almost unheard of, to be part of YG entertainment yet also be in full-time education. Hanbin wanted to go further than only being a producer but that was all he had time for because he was still in school, and already it was faring to be too difficult. He felt that he had to work twice as hard because he _hadn't_ given up everything for the music lifestyle (mostly because Jinhwan had talked him out of it) but this was still what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, and one day he'd be one of those names up there in lights.

His eyes were half-lidded as he tapped on the laptop's keyboard, the blue light incessantly wearing away at his resolve as his quiet yawns infected the air, and he took a sip of lukewarm coffee in hope that it would do something. Hundreds of files were saved on his timeline that hadn't been approved and sometimes he'd just look at them and wonder why they weren't good enough. Why _he_ wasn't good enough. He had confidence in his skills but it aggravated him sometimes that he wasn't perfect even though he _knew_ no-one was perfect, and the art of perfectionism wasn't enough to settle his doubts. So he'd just keep working, until it got so late, and he'd be able to fall asleep standing.

There was a light knock on the door and Hanbin called out a raspy 'come in', not even looking up before something warm cloaked his head in an embrace from behind and Hanbin closed his eyes for a moment, overwhelmingly comforted. "Jinani..."

"Hey, baby," Jinhwan murmured, leaning down to kiss Hanbin's earlobe and Hanbin realised now that all his life, he had really been missing out because being in a relationship was the best thing in the world. Or maybe that was just Jinhwan's effect in general and not a relationship effect. "How are you?"

"I'm great."

"Glad to hear it."

Hanbin let Jinhwan spin his chair around, though when the elder held out his hand, Hanbin raised an eyebrow at him. "What is this, a ballroom scene from a 50s film?"

"Just take it, you nuisance."

Hanbin grinned and did as he was told, yelping a little when Jinhwan pulled Hanbin into his chest and hooked a finger through one of his jeans' belt loops to draw him tantalisingly closer, making Hanbin gulp at the fact that he could feel all of Jinhwan's gorgeous body against him only barred by clothes and he didn't know what to do.

"W-Why are you here, hyung?" Hanbin asked a little breathlessly, moving obediently when Jinhwan backed him up into the control pad of the studio and Hanbin leant back against it for some form of support since his legs were so close to turning to jelly.

"To take you home, why else?"

"Okay, I'm- I'm almost done, just-"

Hanbin gasped quietly when Jinhwan pressed his lips to the younger's collarbone, trailing kisses up to his bare shoulder and Hanbin bit his lip, cursing the fact that he hadn't bothered to button up his shirt properly. He knew his skin was flaming up but Jinhwan's mouth was even hotter against him as his teeth gently teased a spot on Hanbin's neck and he couldn't take it anymore as he pulled Jinhwan's head back, groaning at the sight of the elder with darkened eyes as he ran his tongue over his pink lips and Hanbin didn't let another second pass before he crashed his own lips onto them.

" _Fuck,_ " Hanbin hissed as he kissed Jinhwan, heated at first but then the elder stroked Hanbin's jaw and the atmosphere changed as he angled his head to kiss Hanbin deeper but slower, their lips moving against each other like magic. Hanbin could feel himself unravelling under Jinhwan who was picking him apart and cherishing every piece, slowly and carefully, and Hanbin felt so...important. So loved.

"Let's go," Jinhwan whispered, cooling down with a few soft pecks to Hanbin's jaw and the younger nodded, eyes fluttering as he clutched Jinhwan's shirt, fisting the material gently while he tried to catch his breath. "Unless you, you know, need to do stuff."

Jinhwan had to be absurd if he thought that Hanbin could still do work after that. "Nah, I'll just...I'll...damn, I c-can't even _talk,_ holy shit."

Jinhwan burst into giggles as Hanbin leant forward to rest his head in the crook of the elder's neck, mumbling love-drunken nonsense because he felt so deliciously out of it. All of this was such a foreign feeling but so _slightly_ familiar because of what he saw in dramas and what he wrote about in songs. Yet this, this was finally real, there was really someone loving him and treating him like a prince.

"Hyung," Hanbin muttered after he gathered his wits, reaching into his pocket for something as he slowly lowered himself to the ground on one knee. Jinhwan's eyes grew so big before he laughed a little nervously, saying, "Hanbin...Hanbin, what the _heck_ are you doing-"

"Kim Jinhwan, I hope you know that I love you so so much-"

"Hanbin, no-"

"-and you're one of the best things that have ever happened to me-"

"We've only been dating two months, don't fucking do this-"

"So I have a question," Hanbin said, still ridiculously optimistic despite Jinhwan's comments as he unveiled the box in his hands and had to try very hard not to laugh when Jinhwan put his hand on his forehead to rub his temples in exasperation, turning away a little. Then Hanbin slowly opened the small box, grinning as he held back his excitement because lying in the box was _not_ a ring (thank the gods) but small snowflake earrings, silver and sparsely jewelled and Jinhwan did a double-take when he saw them. "Will you go to the winter formal with me?"

Jinhwan tore his eyes away from the earrings to peer at Hanbin curiously. "Will I- what? I thought we were obviously going to-"

"I know but I wanted this opportunity so so bad and also, I knew that you would think that I was gonna ask you to marry me and I just _had_ to see that for myself."

"Dear God, Kim Hanbin, I hate you," Jinhwan breathed out, clutching his heart as Hanbin rose to his feet and wrapped his arms around Jinhwan's waist. "But I don't. I really love you. And of course it's a yes, you darling moron."

Hanbin smiled, his heart sighing in relief as he pushed the box into Jinhwan's hand. "You're going to look so beautiful in those earrings, just like you always do. I won't be quite so offended if _you'll_ be the beau of the ball instead of me 'cause I still get you all to myself."

"Just come here and shut your cute mouth," Jinhwan grumbled embarrassedly, tugging Hanbin down and the younger said a soft, "Gladly," before he kissed Jinhwan's lips again, soft and sweet against his and Hanbin knew for a fact that he was tasting heaven.  

 

\--

 

**three: watch your best friends being the hot messes they are as they try to ask each other to be their date**

"That's it," Yunhyeong sniffed as he shoved the door to the dorm open and walked inside, dropping himself onto the sofa dramatically as he looked very ready to cry. "I'm going to be single forever. I'm useless."

Hanbin winced at the very sound of him, putting his cup of orange juice down with a heavy clunk. "I may regret asking this but, what's wrong-"

"I tried!"

Hanbin grimaced, hoping that his eardrum hadn't burst as he asked warily, "Tried to what...?"

"Went to find him at baseball practice, completely determined, you know, 'cause I was thinking 'yes, I can do this, I _will_ do this!'"

"Oh no..."

"I haven't even reached the bad part yet!"

"Oh Jesus, I'm gonna need something stronger than orange juice."

"So I go there, excited but firm with my aim and you know what happened? I get hit by a bloody baseball. Soared right into my head and I fell and now I look like an absolute idiot and I got my clothes dirty _and_ I didn't even get to see Chanwoo!"

"Why are you worrying about any of that when you could have a _concussion?"_ Hanbin asked in astonishment but Yunhyeong waved a hand dismissively before hugging one of Hanbin's cushions.

"I'm fine, I have bandages."

"Um, you what now?"

"My self-confidence has completely died. Shrivelled up. Worn away. Gone to Australia. Flying with the fishes."

"What the fuck..."

"I _actually_ thought I had a shot but I'm probably an absolute halfwit in his eyes now. Should I move to Alaska?"

"Firstly, no. You'd just be eaten by a polar bear because you're such an easy target," Hanbin said, quickly pouring a glass of milk before adding a touch of ginger and then he went over to Yunhyeong to hand it to him. "Secondly, you're so easily swayed, I swear to God. So you had _one_ screw-up, you've literally been an idiot in front of all of us not to mention Chanwoo about a billion times now and do we care? Well, a little bit because it's quite embarrassing and it'd be nice if you'd just not sometimes but we still love you! I regret saying that last part. But stop worrying so much because I promise you, if I know Chanwoo at all, he'll have found it very funny but he'll both try and make sure you're okay and he won't think of you any differently. If you thought you had a shot before then you definitely still do. Maybe he didn't even see it."

"You can be really helpful when you want to be, do you know that?" Yunhyeong asked as he sat up to sit cross-legged on the sofa and sipped the milk. Hanbin shrugged, sitting down next to him and staring worriedly at the bandage tied up in Yunhyeong's dark hair. It actually looked kind of cool, to be fair.

"Of course I know."

"How'd it go with Jinhwan-hyung? I'm sure you had more success than me."

Hanbin instantly smiled a little dreamily but he tried to cover it up. "It was perfect."

Yunhyeong grinned, about to question more before his phone started ringing which made him screech but Hanbin slapped a hand over his mouth. "Shut up! Ooh, look...it's Chanwoo."

Yunhyeong's eyes widened as he quickly shook his head but Hanbin nodded in retaliation, removing his hand as he pushed the phone towards Yunhyeong. "Come on, hyung, face the music. Put it on speaker because I _so_ deserve to hear too."

Yunhyeong rolled his eyes but he ended up answering the call just before it was going to go to answerphone, and he quickly pressed speaker when Hanbin sent him a fierce look. "Hey, Chanwoo, uh-"

"You're alive! Thank God...I wasn't sure whether to call you earlier or not 'cause people said that you might've gone to hospital but, I'm guessing you didn't?"

"Nope, just, you know...got my head checked out at the nurse and all that-"

Yunhyeong yelped when Hanbin hit his arm and whisper-yelled, "Stop trying to sound cool!"

"Yunhyeong-hyung? You there?"

"Ah, yes, yes! I'm fine, though. I bet it looked funny, huh?"

"Okay it did, but it was less funny when I found out it was you. Though you're an idiot, what did you think was gonna happen if you went on the pitch?!"

"I wasn't thinking?"

"I swear, you're so strange."

Yunhyeong nodded a little sadly, clutching the phone tightly and the small, "I know," that came out of his mouth honestly broke Hanbin's heart a little. He wrapped his arms around Yunhyeong's shoulders and ignored the elder's questioning look, instead pretending like he was waiting for whatever Chanwoo was going to say next.

"You know, I wouldn't have known it was you if Junhoe hadn't told me you were coming. I didn't see you after or before the incident so then I just pieced things together."

Yunhyeong gasped silently, mouthing 'that _blabbermouth'_ before saying quickly, "U-Um, but I was only coming by to watch because it's interesting, you know, I've always found baseball interesting because it's just one of those things that I've never really thought about doing but it's really quite an art in itself, do you get me? I think you get me-"

"What I get is that you're a dork," Chanwoo replied, sounding like he was holding back a grin, "and you'd get hit by a baseball for me. As much as it pains me to say, that is rather sweet."

Yunhyeong smiled shyly, looking down as he said, "I don't even know what classifies as a compliment or an insult is when it comes to you."

"No-one does. But you're my favourite target for confusion so I don't think the winter formal will be fun if you're not with me."

Yunhyeong barely held back a yelp of disbelief as Hanbin slapped his arm in surprise and he would've kept going if Yunhyeong hadn't pushed him off of the sofa. "Holy...holy _hell,_ don't tell me that you're kidding, don't tell me that Junhoe told you that I was gonna ask you so now you're making fun of me because seriously, Chanwoo, I'll never speak to you again-"

"YEAH, CHANWOO, YOU SUCK!" Hanbin yelled from the floor and Yunhyeong poked him with his foot.

"Was that Hanbin-hyung...? No, look, I'm not making fun of you but if you don't want to then fine-"

"No!" Yunhyeong yelled, jumping up and apologising profusely when he stepped on Hanbin who groaned. "I'd love to, I really would, I just- I had no idea you were even interested in me? I was actually planning to guilt you into going with me..."

"Hyung, that's the saddest thing I've ever heard. This is why you need me."

"Aww."

Hanbin wondered how on earth that was cute.

"Okay, I've got to go change, I'll see you! Hopefully you haven't died the next time _you_ try and see _me_ , though."

Then Chanwoo had hung up and Yunhyeong let out a mammoth sigh of relief, collapsing back onto the sofa and slowly slithering down before he was sat on the floor next to Hanbin. Yunhyeong looked at Hanbin. Hanbin looked at Yunhyeong. It was a moment.

"Hanbin?"

"Yes?"

"I'm...I might _not_ be useless after all."

And then Hanbin sat up to tug Yunhyeong into a tight hug because deep down, of course he was happy for the guy. Yunhyeong probably deserved it more than anyone and the thought of Chanwoo and Yunhyeong as a couple at the formal was such a strange, powerful concept and Hanbin was in love with it. And in Hanbin's mental scoring system, he could say _'one couple down, two to go.'_ Now the fun was really going to start.

 

 

 

 

Hanbin was disappointed yet not surprised as he read the list that Jiwon had given him with scrawly, depressing writing as a just-as-depressing Jiwon sat opposite him, his head in his hands.

_ **asking junhoe to the formal** _

**attempt one:**

_**catch him after class and present to him the most beautiful rose you can find!** _

_\- waited for about three hours, rose wilted, turns out june's class was cancelled and you're a royal fuck-up, kim jiwon!_

\--

**attempt two:**

_**go to his dorm and slip a very detailed, amazing note through the envelope hole thing!** _

_\- got the wrong door and had to deal with a girl who was dead-certain i was in love with her even though i said a billion times that i am SO GAY and then june saw us too and my hopes and dreams died_

\--

**attempt three:**

_**write him a poem, that'll surely impress him!** _

_\- he accidentally read it before he was supposed to, i think he was lookin over my shoulder and he said AND I QUOTE 'that guy must be really special, hyung' and my jaw just locked up even though i really wanted to scream YES YOU FUCKING ARE ISTG_

\--

**attempt four:**

_**keep him behind on our seven's friday hang-out, take his hand and spout the truth like a man!** _

_\- nothing happened. he was just too gorgeous and i was too scared_

_in the end, a knucklehead like me isn't supposed to ask out an angel_

"Why the heck am I about to cry?" Hanbin asked, honestly a bit too emotional once he read the last word and Jiwon raised his head, looking incredibly distressed.

"Right?!"

"Hyung, this isn't good. Oh my God, you're such a sad idiot and I don't even have the heart to get angry at you."

"It's okay, you know, it really is," Jiwon muttered, running a hand through his hair as he hopped up and paced around a little, his mind all over the place. "There's literally a window of so little time before the dance and I don't have a chance anymore and I never did. He's asked me about my date about four times now, doesn't that clearly mean that he doesn't fancy me?! I'm done."

"Wh- no, no you can't be _done!"_ Hanbin yelled, running over to Jiwon and shaking him by the shoulders to try and put some sense into his noggin. "You're so, so in love with him, you can't let this opportunity go. I'm sure that he adores you too-"

"Cut the crap, Hanbin," Jiwon spat harshly, pushing Hanbin away from him. "It was time for me to give up on this stupid crush months ago. Give me _one_ piece of concrete evidence that he even remotely likes me then I'll listen-"

"I think you forget that I may be your friend but I'm also Junhoe's too so I know both of your sides. Okay, let me count off on my fingers: one, he told me that he suddenly realised that he hadn't gone on a date since he had met you, and when I asked him why, he said 'I don't really know...I guess other people just kinda pale in comparison?'"

Now that had got Jiwon's attention, and the guy looked as vulnerable as a hunted bunny. "No way..."

"Two, I was dragging his drunk ass home one night when it started raining and he got all giggly and then he was like 'Jiwon-hyung reeeeally likes rain, I wanna become rain so he'll like me!'"

Jiwon slowly raised a hand to his chest. "Fuck, my heart."

"Three, I saw a poem called 'purple' in his room and I kid you not, it was the cutest thing I'd ever read and it literally included the words 'purple hair' and 'bunny teeth'. Now tell me _one more time_ that this boy isn't as whipped for you as you are for him."

And Hanbin was satisfied when he saw the lovesick, conflicted look on Jiwon's face but the best part was that there was a fire in his eyes that was no longer fizzling out like it had been at the start of their conversation. If anything, it was even bigger. Now Hanbin's work was done and he wasn't allowed to meddle anymore; Jiwon and Junhoe had to figure themselves out for once because no-one else was going to do it for them.

 

 

 

 

Mistletoe.

There were three things that Hanbin loved most in the world. His family, Jinhwan, and mistletoe.

And just at this moment in time, mistletoe was at the very top of the list because do you know who was under the mistletoe tied up on the tree outside on the fields? Kim Jiwon and Koo Junhoe, completely frozen up and terrified while the other five were staring at them so they couldn't even dismiss it. Hanbin didn't know who had put up the mistletoe but he loved them too because this was the quality content that he had signed up for going forward in life.

It wouldn't have happened if Junhoe hadn't leant against the tree to check his emails and if Jiwon hadn't gone up to him to tell him that they were going to go. And it was all fine until Donghyuk caught sight of the mistletoe and hollered to the others, "PEOPLE, IT'S A CODE PURPLE AND BLUE, GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE!"

The two still didn't realise for a moment before Junhoe looked up and almost had a heart attack, hesitantly tugging on Jiwon's hoodie to show him and the colour had drained out of the elder's face when he saw, only to come back full force in form of a blush as he pulled his hoodie out of Junhoe's hold like he had been electrocuted.

"This isn't happening," Jiwon whispered, completely out of his wits while Junhoe looked at the others pleadingly, pressing his hands together.

"Please can we just go? _Please?"_

"And pass up this moment that I've been waiting on for years? How about no?" Donghyuk answered sarcastically and Hanbin wholly agreed as he high-fived the younger. Chanwoo was a mix between anticipation and 'ewwww' while Yunhyeong and Jinhwan were hugging each other tightly to try and get out their excited energy. And Junhoe just stared at Jiwon who looked completely defeated, muttering, "I'm sorry, Junhoe-yah-"

"If you say something like 'you're great and all but not kissable', you're dead to me, hyung," Junhoe said to lighten up the mood before wincing, completely embarrassed by himself but he smiled when Jiwon actually snickered in reply, waving his hands in denial.

"No, no way, you've got- you've got great lips! Wait, I mean, you're totally very absolutely, um, kissable- oh dear God, someone make me stop-"

"There's gonna be more mistletoe at the formal, isn't there?" Junhoe asked, pretending like he wasn't turning pink as he stared at the plant above them in distaste and Jiwon was a little thrown off by being interrupted even though that was literally what he asked for.

"I mean, yeah...hopefully this won't happen again though, I'll try and stay away from you."

"Sounds like a plan. And you can kiss the guy you like."

"Yeah, sure...I mean no. No, I can't," Jiwon said bitterly, finally sick of being indirect about everything. He wasn't planning to confess but he just didn't want to keep Junhoe in the dark anymore. "I don't think our blood types are even compatible and he cares about that a _lot_ and there's a minuscule chance he likes me too but it seems so unbelievable because he's perfect and untouchable and for the record, you are _very_ kissable so there's that. Heck, I wanna kiss you every time I see your stupid face and you always make me smile and you always brighten my day and I know that I've changed the pronouns of who I'm talking about and I know I'm messing up big time, I _know_ all of that but I just...I just can't anymore-"

"You couldn't have got your facts more wrong," Junhoe basically blurted out, his voice sounding higher and a bit louder than usual, and Jiwon took a moment to catch his breath and wits and stare at Junhoe in utter confusion. "Do you think blood types only work when they're the same? That's amateur thinking. You're actually my best match and I'm yours, hyung, O and A but even if it didn't turn out that way, I wouldn't care because I like you for _you_ and not what's in your veins. Oh gosh, I sound like a vampire trying to justify my love for a human..."

"It fits you perfectly. You're _my_ vampire...right?" Jiwon asked with a bright grin and the younger flushed a delicate pink, his smile reaching his ears as he looked down shyly.

"That's so stupidly cheesy."

"That's my middle name, you know."

"I hate you."

Then Junhoe looked up at the mistletoe again and Jiwon followed suit but before he could look down again, there were already soft lips on his that made goosebumps break out all over his skin. His heart was pounding out of his chest and he knew for a fact that he hadn't taken enough breath which was why he was left gasping when Junhoe broke the kiss less than a second after it started and they could barely hear the others' cheers because their heartbeats were so loud in their ears.

"Hyung, I'm- I'm so sorry-"

"Nonono, please don't be-"

"I wasn't even thinking, I was just overwhelmed-"

"It's okay, it really is-"

"If you like me, why did you never tell me?" Junhoe murmured sadly, looking at the ground and Jiwon was speechless now. "I never told you because I've always been thinking that you like someone else but in the end, y-you like _me?_ I didn't go through so much trauma for this outcome."

"I'm sorry, baby," Jiwon sighed dejectedly before he slapped a hand over his mouth and Junhoe stared at him like he had grown a few heads. "Oh shit- okay that just slipped out, I usually only call you that in my head-"

"WHAT-"

Jiwon made a defeated squawk of a noise before realising that he couldn't fix this hole he had dug himself into so he decided to run off only for Donghyuk to sprint after him yelling bloody murder and that could have gone any which way, but Hanbin wanted to focus on Junhoe for now. Sweet, clueless, amazing Junhoe.

"So," Hanbin said as he casually walked up to the younger who rolled his eyes just at the sight of him. "That was pretty cool. I see now that I may have underestimated you two."

Junhoe nodded at the mistletoe. "It was all that thing's fault."

"Nah. That was a catalyst, but the confession was all you guys. What do you think's gonna happen now?"

"I'll ask him to the formal," Junhoe mumbled, picking off a leaf from the tree, "and then...and then I don't know. I'll just be the happiest guy alive, really."

And because of the smile on Junhoe's face and the sparkles in his eyes, Hanbin really believed him. 

 

\--

 

** four: bask in the fact that you’re not going alone because you have GAME **

Hanbin was walking down the road with Jinhwan, gloved hand in mittened hand, and Hanbin was trying to find something to think about. The two hadn't talked for a while, just content with being with each other and walking through the cold morning but Hanbin was starting to feel anxious by the lack of speech and interaction even though he knew that Jinhwan wasn't really a talker. Yet the charming snowflakes beginning to fall from the sky eased things a little since Hanbin would wince and get ready to fight every time one fell on his face and Jinhwan would grin at him, squeezing his hand.

"I wonder how beautiful Seoul would look if the snow settled this year," Jinhwan muttered when they reached a bridge, leaning over the side to peer at the motionless lake next to the frosted riverbank. "And this time, I'll be around to see it, if it does happen."

"I'm sure it'll look great," Hanbin hummed, looping his arms around Jinhwan from behind before pressing a torrent of kisses into Jinhwan's neck and the elder laughed quietly, tipping his head back onto Hanbin's shoulder to stop him but Hanbin only leant down to kiss Jinhwan's lips, feeling successful when the latter melted in his arms.

"I'm so lucky, you know? To have you."

"No way, it's me who's lucky. I still can't believe I've got this much game to bag someone like you."

"You really think I'm that special?"

"Absolutely," Hanbin replied without a moment's hesitation, spinning Jinhwan around to properly face him, "and I know I'm right."

Jinhwan was shy then, like he always was when Hanbin's inner romantic came out, but his gaze dropped a little as the fond haze in his eyes seemed to clear and it was replaced with something unreadable, something almost worrying. "I wonder, sometimes, if I'm good enough to be your first relationship or if _because_ I'm your first, you don't have any expectations and that's the only reason you stick with me. Maybe it's stupid but I don't know what to think."

Hanbin frowned, irked that Jinhwan had to have all of these thoughts and Hanbin didn't know how to eliminate them but he'd try his best. "I don't know either, hyung, I'm going into this completely blind but I do know that I love this. It, you make me so happy and I think that's all I need for me to know that this is something magical. This is special."

"You always know what to say, don't you?" Jinhwan murmured, resting a hand on Hanbin's waist as the younger grinned.

"People always tell me that. Apparently it's quite annoying."

"Maybe, but you just make my heart flutter. To be fair that's quite annoying too."

"Tell me about it! There's this one guy who keeps doing it to me and I wanna sock him in the face sometimes."

"Oh wow, real nice-"

"With my lips, obviously. Gently."

"Yeah, you're just getting disgustingly cheesy now," Jinhwan snorted but he didn't complain when Hanbin took hold of his chin and pulled him into a kiss, both of them smiling against each other as their free hands met, mitten against glove once again and the warmth in their veins multiplied tenfold. 

 

\--

 

** five: get donghyuk a date he deserves. this is happening or you’re a trash human being **

"DONGHYUK, MY MAN!" Hanbin yelled, sliding into the room in his fluffy socks only to crash into a wardrobe and crumple to the floor, whining in pain. "Why don't I ever think things through..."

"Jesus, hyung," Donghyuk said as he went over to the elder, his voice filled with amusement and Hanbin didn't really appreciate it. "Why are you even here?"

Hanbin sat up abruptly, staring at Donghyuk wildly. "Because you're the only one without a date! That's not how we do things here, it's all or nothing, do you _understand_ _me_ -"

"Ah, hyung, that's ridiculous," Donghyuk laughed as he sat down opposite Hanbin, patting the elder's messed-up hair down. "It's okay, I'm still going to the formal! I _am_ student body president after all and sure, it may be sad that I'm going alone but I'll just chaperone and have fun with friends."

"I just don't get it. Anyone would want to go with you, right?! You're _you_ , you literally steal everyone's hearts with just a smile, it's actually quite gross."

"I mean, I have been asked a few times..."

Hanbin gasped loudly before pausing when Donghyuk gave him a look. "And?"

"Well, I don't know, I guess I'm being picky. I wanna go with someone that I know I'll like, someone that I know I'll have fun with, and I don't really think I'm going to find that so I'm just leaving it-"

"I've got it," Hanbin interrupted, eyes wide and Donghyuk frowned at him, wary.

"What...?"

"I promise you, Donghyuk, we'll find you your perfect match!" Hanbin called out behind him as he scrambled up and ran out of the room and out of the dorm, and Donghyuk just groaned as he fell back onto the floor exasperatedly, knowing for sure that this wasn't going to go well. Though maybe he should have had more faith because after a whole day of the other six deliberating and determining a shortlist of people who would fare well (it was actually a very eventful ordeal, Hanbin made a fool of himself multiple times in front of these people while he spied on them to see if they were good enough so basically, Donghyuk owed him a million boxes of pringles) until they finally narrowed it down to ten people, then five, then finally one person and if this didn't follow through, then they were doomed.

"Okay, I've got the fact file," Hanbin said firmly and Jiwon came to look as well as Jinhwan  who was in the middle of savouring some ramen. And by fact file, Hanbin basically meant a piece of paper with a scribbly drawing and hastily written facts about this person who was going to be his saviour.

 _name_ : _Jung_ _Hoseok_

_age: in Jinhwan’s year_

_sexuality: pan!!_

_physical: same height as Dong, lean, brown eyes, red kinda long hair, heart smile, freckles_

_personality: very very sweet and happy!! boisterous, hard-working, cool, super nice_

_extras: in our dance class, such a good dancer like holy shit, into hiphop and so is dong, also kinda idolises donghyuk because of the president thing and dong idolises him cause of dance and ahhhhHhhH can this get anymore perfect_

_cons: has a very scary best friend and I'm terrified of him but we gotta soldier through yes we do_

"Yoongi will smack you up if he thinks you're doing anything bad to this dude," Jiwon said unhelpfully as he pointed to the last one. "He's my point-guard and I know that he's a force to be reckoned with so watch out."

"Point-guard?" Jinhwan asked in confusion, a piece of salad on his cheek and Hanbin leant forward to pick it off with his teeth, making Jinhwan flush red while Jiwon retched.

"Basketball, hyung."

"Ah..."

"So what are you actually planning to do now?" Jiwon asked curiously. "You just gonna bully him until he asks Donghyuk out?"

"No! How dare you suggest such a thing? I'm just gonna talk to him."

"Isn't he kinda scared of you 'cause of your, what should I call it... 'tiger dance leader persona'?"

"He's quite bad too, to be honest - I mean he's not as bad as _me_ but he also takes dance super seriously so I bet he understands and I'm sure he knows that I'm not really like that."

But Hoseok apparently did _not_ know, and the guy nearly ran a mile when Hanbin tried to approach him two days before the formal. Hanbin felt a little bit ashamed of himself, and he would have reflected except he had a job to do.

"Hoseok-hyung, it's me!"

"I-I know," Hoseok replied, beaming even though he sounded very nervous. "Hey, Hanbin."

Hanbin smiled, feeling hopeful now. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, I was just gonna go to my dorm. Since, we're in the dorm complex and, my dorm is right here. I was gonna go in it."

"I see. That makes a lot of sense."

"It does!"

"So, do you have a date to the dance?" Hanbin asked bluntly and Hoseok blinked, looking very confused.

"No, but...Hanbin, I'm flattered but I-"

"I'm not asking for me, hyung, you know I have a boyfriend. I've just got this one friend and I know I'm being a matchmaker which doesn't always fare well but you guys really seem like a good match."

Hoseok's eyebrows shot up before he clutched his heart, sounding overly emotional as he said, " _Really?_ That's so sweet, oh my God...I mean, you're probably wrong but thank you, Hanbin, I think you've made my day."

Hanbin grinned, shaking his head in disbelief at how the guy was so optimistic already. "That's nice but I'm not done yet. You know Kim Donghyuk? I know, it's strange, he's president and he doesn't have a date but that's because he either wants the perfect guy or nothing. What if _you're_ the perfect guy?"

Hoseok's eyes were so wide by now that Hanbin was scared that they were going to fall out of his sockets, and then Hoseok was saying, "Why me? What- what did _I_ do that was special?"

"You were yourself, that's all. You're a pretty great person and so is Donghyuk and together you'll be like some kind of power couple! Am I making sense?"

"I mean, I guess but- no not really. He's really nice and I like him but I barely know him-"

"I'm not asking you to _date_ him, just _be_ his date for the formal! You'll both have so much fun..."

"You really don't change whether it's dance or real life, do you? You're just as incessant," Hoseok asked amusedly and Hanbin's heart dropped because no, he had been trying to show that he _was_ different out of dance lessons. "I'm so sorry, kid, I...yeah, it's a no. I just don't think it's a good idea, that's all, please please forgive me."

Now Hanbin was completely deflated and lost. He only said a half-hearted farewell to the worried guy as he walked off, feeling heavy and like a disappointment. He went back to his dorm, knocking quietly and when Jinhwan opened the door, even his smiling face couldn't cheer Hanbin up as he went straight to his bed and collapsed onto it, stuffing his face into a pillow until he couldn't breathe. He had honestly, truly failed.

"I've broken my promise to Donghyuk," Hanbin mumbled as Jinhwan climbed onto the bed to lie next to him, ducking under his arm and Hanbin actually smiled a little when Jinhwan was suddenly nose-to-nose with him. But the happiness was short-lived. "I never break promises, hyung. Never ever _ever_ , so why do I have to start now?"

"Hey, stop it," Jinhwan said, stroking Hanbin's face and his hair with his gentle, soothing touches and Hanbin closed his eyes. "This isn't your fault, it was a tough ask anyway."

"I just- I just want everyone to have someone and be happy-"

"I know, baby, we all know. And I know it feels like you've worked so hard only to come out with nothing but sometimes it turns out that way, and that's okay. You don't need to worry because Donghyuk will still be happy on his own, and we'll all be with him too."

"But...alright. I just feel so rubbish. YG failed so many of my songs this past week, so I wanted to throw myself into this so I could at least do _something_ right but no, I'm still a failure."

Jinhwan tapped Hanbin's cheek, light yet sharp and Hanbin whined a little. "You'll never be a failure in my eyes, Bin. You're a hard-working, caring sweetheart and even if things go wrong, you pick yourself back up, don't you? That's something I love about you. Don't get yourself so down this close to the day, okay?"

Hanbin could feel his sadness settling now, overpowered by his absolute adoration for his boyfriend as he kissed Jinhwan's nose, murmuring, "I love you. I love you so much."

Jinhwan smiled gently, replying, "I know," as he let Hanbin burrow into him.

 

 

 

It was late at night when Donghyuk went back to the dance studios, knowing that he had left his snapback there but he froze when he heard squeaks of the floor and loud footsteps. Someone was clearly practising in there, and he figured that it could be Hanbin since he usually tended to practise when no-one was there, or it was probably just someone else he knew. So he quietly walked in, trying to avoid looking at the person so he wouldn't throw them off as he tried to scan the ground for the hat but before he could find it, a voice called out, "Hey, Donghyuk! It's been a while!"

Donghyuk spun around, shell-shocked for a moment before he grinned back at the person, not sure what else to do. "Hyung! Has it really been a while? I thought I saw you yesterday, in this very studio actually."

"Yeah but, it's been a while since we've talked, I mean," Hoseok replied breathlessly, sending Donghyuk a pretty smile as he ran a hand through his hair. Donghyuk was a little mesmerised before he shook his head to snap himself out of it, saying, "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"You're doing great, by the way. Not that you need validation from me but you know, everyone likes compliments," Hoseok said brightly, wrapping an arm around Donghyuk's shoulders for support and Donghyuk felt a bit worried as he placed his own arm around Hoseok's waist.

"You good? Maybe you should go rest now, hyung."

"Oh, I'm not doing choreography or anything. I'm just dancing for fun."

"I understand that but still..."

"There's word going round that you're looking for a date, Mr Kim," Hoseok chirped, a complete non-sequitur and Donghyuk groaned, scrunching his nose up at the thought.

"Dear God, that makes me sound desperate, I'm really not! It's just Hanbin-hyung, he's been trying to get me a date for so long and then he was all like 'oh my god dude I've got the peeerfect guy!' but apparently it didn't work out and I just knew that was gonna happen, you know? I don't really have luck when it comes to anything romance. Besides, I don't need a date to have fun."

"Yeah, I guess," Hoseok agreed, lowering his gaze and trying to hide the guilt in his voice. "But sometimes it's nice."

"Have you got a date?"

"No, wasn’t really planning on it. Someone kind of changed my mind a little, though, and I've been wondering if I should ask this one person out but I don't think it's meant to be."

"Oh no, I'm sorry," Donghyuk said with an apologetic frown, rubbing Hoseok's back but the elder only laughed, shaking his head.

"I might just do it anyway, I don't have much to lose."

"Hey, that's the spirit. I wish you the very very best."

"Does that mean you'll say yes, then?" Hoseok asked, looking at Donghyuk with his warm, smiling eyes and Donghyuk's heart might have just stopped. "It's all in your hands."

"Pardon my language but you've got to be fucking kidding me."

Hoseok laughed, bright and happy and Donghyuk felt weak and even more confused until something hit him. "Did Hanbin tell you to do this? Holy cow, were _you_ the perfect match?!"

"I mean, yeah but don't think of it like-"

"Look, I don't want this if you've only been put up to it-"

"Hey, I said no at first because I didn't want to feel like an idiot who couldn't think for myself and was only following someone else's mindset, and I also didn't want this to feel like a set-up. But, I don't know, maybe I'm delirious and sleep-deprived but right now, you seem special and this is my last year here and I'm kind of thinking that Hanbin could be right, because the guy _is_ pretty smart."

"True...so what are you saying? Do you actually want to be my perfect match for one night?"

"If that's alright with you," Hoseok said quietly, turning slightly to face Donghyuk with an almost pleading, wretched look and Donghyuk really wanted to laugh. But instead he just nodded and kissed Hoseok's cheek, feeling shy immediately after but Hoseok gave him the biggest smile and that made everything okay. And, incredibly, Hanbin hadn't broken his promise in the end.

Kim Donghyuk had a date to the winter formal. 

 

\--

 

**six: sit back and relax with wine, music, and a gorgeous boy before the storm approaches**

The atmosphere was calm as Hanbin was so ready to finally have a whole night just with Jinhwan with no distractions, no other people, just sweet wine in fancy cups and soft music flowing out of the stereo. Jinhwan already seemed a little bit buzzed, hiccupping every now and then even though he didn't have the hiccups, especially whenever they clinked glasses. But the guy had an incredibly high tolerance so Hanbin wasn't that worried.

Time seemed to have slowed around them as they sat on the sofa, kissing slowly as hands slipped under shirts to caress skin and soft moans filled the air that was only getting warmer by the second. Hanbin groaned when Jinhwan wound his legs tighter around his waist and licked into his mouth slowly, his tongue gentle but yearning and Hanbin wanted to give Jinhwan everything he was asking for, even if he didn't know what that was. They broke apart for a moment and Hanbin panted softly, tipping his head back but Jinhwan wasn't letting him have a break since he was instantly unbuttoning the younger's shirt and pressing his lips to Hanbin's collarbone, sucking the skin not harsh enough to make it break but it _was_ enough to make Hanbin gasp loudly as he bucked his hips up a little, squeezing his eyes shut. "H-Hyung..."

"I really love how sensitive you are," Jinhwan hummed against Hanbin's skin as he kissed up to his neck, dragging his tongue across the expanse and Hanbin shivered, cracking one eye open and moaning lowly when he saw Jinhwan pull off of him and lick his lips, his eyes dark. "Is there anything you want, baby?"

"I-I don't know," Hanbin whispered, still gathering his breath but he hissed when Jinhwan went back to his neck, biting down on the skin and Hanbin whimpered softly, clutching Jinhwan's waist tighter as the elder licked over the mark gently and was about to go further down until he let out a loud hiccup, making him burn red in embarrassment while Hanbin only let out a breathy laugh. "Ugh, hyung, you're the cutest."

"I'm trying to _not_ be cute," Jinhwan whined in retaliation and Hanbin nodded, smiling gently as he ran his hands up and down Jinhwan's thighs.

"I know, I know."

Jinhwan took the break of the moment as a chance to fix himself up as he leant back and pulled his hair back too, breathing heavily with his eyes hooded and lips sinfully swollen pink. Hanbin just watched him, savouring every single moment of this gorgeous boy on him who was all his, all for him.

"I have no idea how you can be so amazing. So much so that you make me fall in love with you more each day."

"It's simple. I'm not," Jinhwan replied, leaning back down to lick up the sweat on Hanbin's neck and Hanbin wasn't able to rebut for a moment because he was too busy trying to find inner peace so he wouldn't moan the place down.

"Th-That's such, such a big lie, you're incredible."

"Maybe," Jinhwan said nonchalantly as his teeth grazed the younger's Adam's apple, kissing it softly before he parted his lips on the skin and sucked  hard as he got high off of Hanbin's soft little gasps. Hanbin arched his back a little, keening loudly but it was quickly swallowed when Jinhwan moved up to brush their lips together, his right hand cradling Hanbin's cheek. "Gosh, I just love you, I love this, you're so fucking hot and beautiful, how do you exist?"

"Are we just throwing compliments back and forth now?"

"It's kind of what we do best."

Hanbin nodded in agreement, pecking Jinhwan's lips one last time before the elder got off of him and collapsed back onto the sofa seats, resting his head back onto Hanbin's lap and closing his eyes. Hanbin smiled down at the pretty sight as he ran his fingers through Jinhwan's hair and said, "It's really strange, the amount of power you hold over me."

"Same here, Bin."

"I don't know what I'm going to do when we break up."

Jinhwan opened his eyes as he stared up at Hanbin incredulously. "Did you just say 'when'? Do you want to break up with me?"

"No, no! I just, you know, people are always like 'ohhhh, first loves never work out, a break-up is inevitable'. Also you got sick of your last boyfriend, so...you'll get sick of me."

"Those are such stupid reasons," Jinhwan sighed as he reached out a hand to caress Hanbin's face and the younger fell into his touch. "Time will tell, Hanbin. Just believe me when I say that I'm so in love with you and I wouldn't trade you for the-" He got cut off by yet another hiccup which made him yell a loud, "FUCK YOU, WINE" and kick his legs in annoyance while Hanbin dissolved into giggles, leaning down to hug Jinhwan's head tightly.

"Thank you, hyung," Hanbin whispered, pressing his cheek against Jinhwan's. "Thank you for loving me." 

 

\--

 

**seven: lead all your friends through the madness of formal preparing because they're all imbeciles!**

"Okay, so the people who don't know how to do a tie are...Junhoe, Jinhwan-hyung and Donghyuk. Junhoe's not wearing a suit so that's fine, I'll help Jinhwan-hyung, and Donghyuk...we'll find something. I don't know anything about what's going on with Hoseok and Donghyuk which is so goddamn _annoying_ but! I digress. Jiwon-hyung, Chanwoo and Jinhwan-hyung are bringing corsages for their respective partners so I gotta remind them, and I'll hand out all of the boutonnieres that they gave me later...holy _FUCK_ , I HAVEN'T GOT AN OUTFIT YET-"

"Baby, shut up, I beg," Jinhwan groaned, the victim of an irritating hangover from the night before as he lay face-down on the sofa and Hanbin muttered a quick apology before rushing to his room, thinking that okay, so maybe he didn't have an outfit but that didn't _matter_ , the others were more important. He'd just go whip one up later.

Things travelled quite smoothly after that, in a way. He managed to wheedle information out of the student council and apparently, the cake was going to have almond icing 'for the winter feel' and then he told his friends who were allergic to nuts. Then he rounded up his dance team to practise their number they were going to show on stage one last time (even though it turned into about six times) and gave them all a pat on their exhausted backs before racing off and getting Jiwon to tell his basketball team to leave their varsity jackets in their dorms because everyone was proud of them but people do  _not_ need to be reminded 24/7 that you're part of the fucking basketball team (Jiwon got very offended by that, yelling ' _you're_ part of this team, have you got no spirit?!' but no, Hanbin really didn't care), and then he went and did the same with the football team, and the baseball team were chill so he didn't bother. Then he went to Hoseok and gave him the biggest hug ever as a thank you before bolting when he saw Yoongi looming like a phantom, and then...then Hanbin couldn't really remember. Things were really like a whirlwind.

"I think I ripped my shirt," Junhoe said sadly, walking into the living room with the red fabric in his hands and that also meant he was shirtless, meaning that Jiwon was left gaping at him for a good few moments before Hanbin pushed him into the sofa, took the shirt and shoved Junhoe back into the bedroom to get him away from Jiwon's eyes. Hanbin inspected the shirt and saw that the rip was at the shoulder and if it was just shaped a little bit, it would look rather nice.

"Don't worry about it, it'll look great if you don't mind showing a bit of skin. Let me fix it up."

"Oh, okay."

"Jiwon-hyung, get your ass up and start getting changed," Hanbin grumbled, poking Jiwon in the stomach as he walked past and the elder yelped and convulsed on the sofa, acting like he had been shot. Hanbin checked his watch and frowned - two hours to go and the other four still weren't here yet. Did no-one care about this even after so much stress?!

Thirty minutes later (aka when Jiwon finished getting changed and Hanbin was about to do the former's hair but got the shock of his life when Junhoe offered to do it), Jinhwan burst through the door while dragging Chanwoo with him. "We're here, we're here!"

"I suspect that you're already changed?" Hanbin asked, too busy fetching the boutonnieres to look at them and Jinhwan nodded.

"Yep! But, uh...my-"

"Why were you going so fast?!" a voice that sounded suspiciously like Yunhyeong's yelled, sounding extremely out of breath and Jinhwan whirled on him, clarifying, "Because we're already so late, I bet Hanbin hates us! Now get in here and tell Donghyuk to hurry up and stop acting like he's the king of the world and everything stops for him."

"I'M NOT ACTING LIKE THAT, I JUST DON'T LIKE RUNNING-"

"DID ANYONE ASK?!"

Donghyuk made it to the dorm eventually before earning a swipe on the head from Hanbin which he shouldn't have been surprised by, and then Hanbin was trying to find wherever the hell Jinhwan had got to, Yunhyeong was hunched over panting while Chanwoo patted his back, and Junhoe was littering Jiwon's hair with plaits and talking about some sort of nonsense like he was an actual hairdresser and Jiwon cackled at pretty much every word he said.

"Jinhwan-hyung," Hanbin sighed in relief when he found the elder touching his face up in the bathroom. Jinhwan sent him a smile through the mirror and Hanbin was too busy admiring him that he didn't catch sight of the snowflake earrings for a while but they were there, shining radiantly on Jinhwan's ears and it just added perfectly to a ready-made masterpiece. "Are you okay?"

"Just great, but..." Jinhwan picked something up from the counter and spun around, smiling at Hanbin sheepishly as he held up the tie. "Can you do this for me?"

"I was planning to," Hanbin answered with a smile, walking forwards and taking the tie before wrapping it around Jinhwan's shirt neck tightly. Jinhwan was oddly still while Hanbin did up the tie and he was about to ask if anything was wrong before Jinhwan said quietly, "You haven't changed yet."

"Oh yeah, I can just get changed really quickly when everything's sorted. It's fine."

"Okay."

"Did my hangover remedy work?"

"Totally, it was great."

Hanbin nodded, leaning in for a kiss but then Jinhwan moved his head to the side and Hanbin paused, confused so he just focused on getting the tie done and the instant that was sorted, Jinhwan tried to leave but Hanbin held him back. "Hyung, did- did I do something? Are you angry at me?"

Jinhwan sighed, looking at the ground. "No."

"So...was it a gay joke? Just tell them that the twink in me is never going to die so they should just give up!"

"Hanbin, I swear to God-"

"Okay, okay, just tell me, please. Pretty please."

"It's just, that thing you said yesterday. About first loves not working out. It's bumming me out so much because I _get_ it, my own first love ended so horribly and I'm even still a bit scarred from it and just thinking about _us_ ending up like that? It makes me want to cry. I love you to pieces and I've never loved someone more but...things...things could still go wrong."

"Oh my lord, hyung, I'm so sorry," Hanbin murmured, feeling so ashamed of himself as he tugged Jinhwan into an embrace and rested his head on top of Jinhwan's, feeling something inside him break when the elder buried his face into Hanbin's chest and hugged him back almost fiercely. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said anything- you really shouldn't be thinking about something like that, not today when you're supposed to have fun and be all happy, holy shit, I'm the worst boyfriend _ever_ -"

"No, stop it, please," Jinhwan murmured into Hanbin's shirt which he also scrunched up in his hands tightly. The fact that Jinhwan did that whenever he touched Hanbin was absolutely adorable in the younger's eyes. "You always say deep things and they always get me thinking but that's a good thing because I _do_ need to think sometimes to get places. It's just made me lose my foolish love goggles, I guess. It makes me want to protect what we have with my life because like I said, things can go wrong, and I will do the best I can to save us until I just can't anymore and maybe that'll come sooner, or later, or never. No-one knows, and I think I'm okay with that."

Hanbin couldn't speak for a moment. His throat had closed up as he smushed his face in Jinhwan's hair and closed his eyes tightly, shaking a little and Jinhwan stroking his back didn't manage to give the soothing effect he desired right now. So this marked the dat that they moved out of the 'honeymoon' stage, it seemed, and their relationship was getting more serious now. What did that even mean, in the end?

"Hanbin? You o-"

"Do you even know how close to tears I am right now?"

"Baby no, don't you dare cry or I'll cry too-"

"Every inch of you is beautiful. Inside and out. I adore you and when I release my first album as a rapper, I'm going to dedicate the whole thing to you except for the sad songs because they're gonna be pretty fucking depressing, I warn you now- but! I love you. That's my statement. This isn't the night to confess anything or have us crying on the floor because I need to get ready in ten minutes so I'm just gonna leave and tonight will be a super magical night, just us."

"Okay," Jinhwan agreed with a small smile that looked so precious that Hanbin couldn't help but kiss it.

"You look beautiful by the way."

"I know."

 

 

\-- 

 

 

** eight: have the best night you could possibly have to mark the end of so much distress and amazement **

Jinhwan choked on the water he was drinking when Hanbin walked out of the room where he was getting changed.

"Okay, people, pictures, let's-"

"Uh, no, not yet," Jinhwan said quickly, still coughing a little as he took Hanbin's sleeve and dragged him back into the room and Hanbin was so confused that he wasn't sure if he should fight back or not.

"Hyung, what-"

"What are you trying to do to me?" Jinhwan hissed as he pushed Hanbin up against the wall and the younger's eyes widened as he raised his hands up in surrender, squeaking, "I don't know what's happening-"

"You're so damn gorgeous...are you even real?"

Hanbin hadn't been planning to go for a conventional look from the very start, but he had forgotten to properly prepare clothes so he had honestly expected to end up looking terrible. But that was okay because his dream of being the 'beau of the ball' was just for laughs, really. He had managed to fetch an outfit throughout the day, and he ended up with a black silk shirt that had been sitting at the end of the wardrobe (he fixed it up with an artful, very light spray of sparkly orange across it for a pumpkin spice sort of feeling), dark skinny jeans that were almost glossy and, to top it all off, the rainbow shawl from all that time ago wrapped snugly around his waist. He was lazy putting it all on, one shoulder and collarbones completely bare because he hadn't done up the top three buttons, he was in too much of a rush to do something so menial since he had to do his hair and make-up too but he only settled for a little when it came to that. Pink lip tint was the only obvious thing and he had crimped his hair lightly (alpaca style) and scarcely sprayed it once again with the pumpkin spice orange.

It wasn't that special. Of course it wasn't, so what was Jinhwan getting so heated over?

"We've got to go, hyung-"

"Oh hell no, you look like the most ethereal thing in existence and I'm not going 'til I worship that body of yours."

Hanbin's jaw dropped, scandalised yet so damn amused because horny Jinhwan was such a dog. " _Honestly_ hyung..."

"I wanna kiss you and mark that porcelain skin all over," Jinhwan murmured, his voice on the very edge of holding back and Hanbin felt his skin involuntarily heating up at the words. "I wanna rip that shirt off you and...and, uh-"

"Cuddle?" Hanbin asked cheekily, pulling Jinhwan into an embrace and Jinhwan groaned low in his throat, not wanting to hug back.

"I had a whole thing going there! Who even cuddles shirtless?!" 

"You don't know the inner workings of every man, hyung, don't dismiss such things." 

Jinhwan rolled his eyes, tugging himself sharply out of Hanbin's hold and all the younger could do was laugh at him. At least Jinhwan didn't look so scarily sex-driven now.

"Come on, let's go. If you think I look good then we'll be the most beautiful couple there," Hanbin said, taking Jinhwan's hand and pulling him closer once more, hoping to get the kiss that he had been denied earlier and he smiled when Jinhwan took Hanbin's face in his small hands and pressed their lips together, slow and tender. Closed eyes, soft touches and luminescent warmth consumed them probably longer than it should've until Jiwon was banging on the door, yelling, "Can you guys stop doing whatever the heck you're doing, I don't wanna know, and come out here already?!" 

"Okay, we're coming!" Hanbin replied before quickly pressing sweet kisses down Jinhwan's throat which vibrated softly as Jinhwan giggled against him. "Alright, you ready for the best night ever?" 

"Ready as I'll ever be, baby." 

Hanbin beamed at him for a good moment, completely enchanted before he burst out of the room, holding his and Jinhwan's intertwined hands up in the air as he yelled amidst the mess of people, "Make way for the most incredible couple you'll ever see!" and the others rolled their eyes but still parted ways because Jinhwan and Hanbin really _were_ superior, in truth. "Okay, ten minutes for pictures- actually, no! We'll take pictures there 'cause we'll meet up with Hoseok-hyung, try your best to avoid their friends because literally all of them are on sports teams and you guys are wusses!"

"Excuse _you_ , if they start anything then I'll jiujitsu their asses-" 

"Junhoe shut up, no-one cares; time to go?" 

The others all agreed, getting ready to leave while Jiwon tried to fruitlessly comfort a very aggravated Junhoe (it mostly included Jiwon hesitantly petting Junhoe's head), and then they were off with Hanbin linking one arm with Donghyuk and keeping his other hand safe in Jinhwan's hold, and he really felt so happy. It was strange because this definitely wasn't the last winter formal that he'd ever be at school for but it _was_ for Jiwon, Yunhyeong and Jinhwan who would be leaving in January to pursue a full-time career in music, hopefully working with Hanbin, and that instantly warped everything. Hanbin had only wanted to make it so perfect for all of his friends  because it would be the last time that they'd either go full stop or be able to go with the people they liked. He wasn't doing this for himself. Not for anyone else. Just for them. 

"You know, all of this wouldn't have come together if it wasn't for you," Jinhwan whispered to him when they were outside, a little ahead of the others. "You're already starting to become a legend." 

Hanbin shook his head because he couldn't accept that. "I'm no legend. Legends are superstars, icons, they shine on their own. I only shine with, because, and for my family: you guys." 

"But-" 

"No buts, hyung. I love you all, end of." 

Jinhwan frowned, cuddling up into Hanbin's side and the younger wrapped an arm around him. "Fine. But in a few years when hundreds of people are calling you a legend, I'm gonna be there to say I told you so, and that's a promise."

 

 

 

 

"Hyung's scary best friend is looking at me, hyung's scary best friend is looking at me," Hanbin hissed under his breath, shielding his gaze as sweat was already starting to form on his brow. "Is he still- is he looking away yet, HAS HE LOOKED AWAY YET-" 

"Bin, shut up, oh my _God_ ," Jinhwan wheezed, finding it all very funny and Hanbin glared at him. But his gaze instantly faltered when he felt a shadow behind him and he squeaked, his shoulders raising as he mouthed to Jinhwan terrifiedly _, “Who is it?”_

Jinhwan grinned amusedly before spinning Hanbin around and the younger nearly yelled, putting his hands up in a karate position before realising how stupid he looked. There in front of him was Hoseok's best friend, Yoongi, looking incredibly dapper but his hands were in his pockets and his eyebrow was quirked and his lips were curled into _not_ a smile and Hanbin felt like he was about to be murdered and he might just cry—

"Hi," Yoongi said and Hanbin nodded, not trusting his own voice for a moment. Yoongi's one was very low. 

"Hey," Hanbin replied and his voice wasn't even higher than usual but it was still _much_ higher than Yoongi's so he felt the need to cough and say in a much lower tone to show his non-existence machoness, "Um, I mean, **_hey_**." 

Yoongi snorted, his lips curling up now and Hanbin almost had a heart attack from relief. Was that even possible? "Don't want to intrude, I know we literally don't talk unless we're discussing shooting techniques - just saying thank you. You got Hoseok a date and we all wanted that." 

"I mean, uh, technically I didn't _get_ him the date, I just kinda nudged him a little-"

"Accept my darn gratitude." 

"Okay!" 

"You also kind of got Jiwon to surpass his pathetic pining stage, right? Good on you."

"Oh no no, that was nothing to do with me. To be honest I'm not good with romance at all, but I'm good at getting my friends what they deserve." 

Yoongi raised an eyebrow, impressed. "You sound just like my boyfriend. He'd do anything for our friends but he thought that texting me the most mind-boggling brain teaser that ended with 'I love you' in some sort of code was romantic?" 

"Oh, _tell_ me about it," Jinhwan joined in as he slung an arm around Hanbin's neck from behind, tiptoe-ing a little to look taller as he grinned at Yoongi. "This dude here once wrote an actual history essay for an actual class where if you take the first letter of each paragraph, it would spell 'I love one man - Kim Jinhwan.' He spent _twenty_ _hours_ on the bloody thing."

"That's like the most romantic thing in the world, what more do you _want?!”_ Hanbin yelped in defence while Yoongi snickered and Jinhwan grinned teasingly, pressing a kiss to Hanbin's nape. 

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing, baby." 

"I'll see you guys, then, have a lovely night." 

"You too, Yoongi!" Jinhwan replied brightly and Hanbin waved, wanting to say goodbye too but Yoongi was leaving and the moment was gone and that was sad. "See, was that so bad?" 

"I was trying to be  _cool_ , hyung, why did you have to make me look like a dork?" 

"Because, you can be super cool sometimes but I don't think your cool self was the side that Yoongi would've preferred. Sure, he'd be 'impressed' but everyone loves your dorky side." Jinhwan pulled on Hanbin's ears, beaming as he continued, "You're my fabulous dork and that'll never change." 

Hanbin sighed, wanting to be annoyed but a blush was creeping up his skin which already determined his feelings. So he accepted it with the help of good punch and even better company, having sparse moments with his amazing friends and spending every single second with Jinhwan by his side, a perfect reminder of how all of this preparation was so _worth_ it. It was crazy how he could go from slow-kissing Jinhwan under mistletoe to wrestling Junhoe into a fat kiss on the cheek under mistletoe, and how he'd sing the school anthem with all his passion and tears in his eyes then be shredding it on the dance floor to _rock_  anthems. Drunk-sounding karaoke was his middle name and hollering about anything and everything was his game and he felt like he was having the best time of his life at a _formal_. Who thought that would happen? 

"Yunhyeong and Chanwoo keep getting caught under all the mistletoe and they haven't kissed on the lips once, it's just hands or noses or foreheads and I'm gonna _cry_ ," Jinhwan wailed as he started banging his head on Hanbin's chest. "So fucking precious. I shouldn't have brought wine, I'm so emotional, kill me now...”

"No killing, hyung, this is a murder-free zone," Hanbin tutted, stroking Jinhwan's head lightly. Jinhwan needed petting every now and then, Hanbin was sure the guy would _combust_ if he didn't get it for a whole day. "Besides, I would much rather slow dance with you if you'd like. If you don't want to, that'd be okay too, of course, whatever you want-”

"Oh stop it, Bin, I'd love to," Jinhwan replied, his voice muffled by Hanbin's shirt and the younger closed his eyes for a moment, overwhelmed by relief as he dropped a kiss in Jinhwan's hair. Slow dancing with someone had been on his bucket list since he was twelve when he saw it in a drama he was watching with his mother, and ten minutes later in the present when him and Jinhwan were wrapped up in each other in every way, swaying gently across the dance floor with all the other couples, Hanbin knew that he had the exact same feeling that the protagonist had in the drama. Excitement, contentment, butterflies, adoration, a heartbeat that would speed up whenever her love interest moved in closer or sent her an enchanting smile. And Hanbin’s _own_ love interest was among the most intricate of masterpieces and Hanbin only had eyes for him, his thoughts plagued with Jinhwan and nothing else.

“I don’t know how you can have the audacity to look so in love with me when I’m trying to focus on not tripping up,” Jinhwan complained, even though Hanbin didn’t look even half as enamoured as the former did but Jinhwan was always going to be a hypocrite. “Jesus, I don’t think I’ve ever stared at one person this much in my life. I’m so bored.” 

“ _Oi_ ,” Hanbin seethed though it came out as more of a whine and Jinhwan snorted in satisfaction, his hand falling down to grip the curve of Hanbin’s waist. “But I’m the-”

“‘Beau of the ball’, yes, I know, baby, and you really are,” Jinhwan said amusedly, pecking Hanbin’s lips and Hanbin felt just as (if not _more_ ) offended.

“So you’re just gonna curve on me like that- why are you so _two_ -faced, hyung?!”

“Cause I’ve got a special boyfriend licence to do so, it’s all in the contract,” Jinhwan teased, rubbing his nose with Hanbin’s in a fond eskimo kiss and Hanbin pouted at him even though he returned it because he hadn’t been able to find the restraint in him yet to deny Jinhwan of _anything_. Literally anything. Nearly always what Jinhwan wants, Jinhwan gets, Hanbin was just too whipped. 

“I’m actually going to write us a contract one day.”

“Oh God, why did I open my stupid mouth-”

“No, it’ll be cute! We’ll have terms like...looking after each other when we’re ill, splitting the payment for EVERY bill unless there’s a good reason otherwise.”

“How about at least one make-out session a day?”

“You really need to get yourself under control.”

“I tried.”

“No wine before noon?”

“One date night each week.”

“Remember to always kiss the other goodnight.”

“Or send mushy goodnight texts when out late.”

“Never break a promise.”

“Never become complacent.”

“Never hide what we have.”

“Never be ashamed of the other.”

“Always remember just how much we love each other,” Hanbin murmured, pausing the dance so he could take Jinhwan’s jaw in his hand and caress it gently with his thumb, watching how Jinhwan’s eyes fluttered and his breathing became quiet but uneven as he balled Hanbin’s shirt in his fists, “because that’s the most important thing in the end.”

“I love you, Bin,” Jinhwan sighed, the words falling from his lips as easily as if they were breaths. And he looked like he wanted to say more but didn’t know how to, so Hanbin swept him into an elegant dip and kissed him right there and then, unaware and uncaring of any onlookers. He couldn’t care when Jinhwan tasted so _good_ as his adorable hands tangled themselves up in Hanbin’s hair, tugging gently as he kissed Hanbin almost into submission, the younger’s legs and arms feeling terribly overwhelmed. But he held on a bit longer as Jinhwan instantly parted Hanbin’s weakened lips and their tongues wrapped around each other’s deliciously, with Jinhwan’s hands slipping slowly down to Hanbin’s waist again, stroking wantingly over his back muscles and his torso before they finally broke the kiss and Hanbin was pulling Jinhwan back up not even a second later, out of breath and now his arms hurt but, so worth it.

“I swear, hyung, can you keep _anything_ PG-13?” Hanbin panted, windswept and Jinhwan gaped at him in disbelief.

“Excuse me but you’re the one who started it!”

“It was a whole moment - I was looking for soft and sweet, not _spicy!”_

Jinhwan couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the words and Hanbin smiled a little too, realising just how absurd he sounded. So they tried to resume the dance but they were too giggly and out of it, mistiming twirls and stepping on each other a good few times. But Hanbin didn’t really care because it was still perfect in his eyes, in all honesty; it all boiled down to the fact that he was dancing with the current love of his life and off the top of his head, Hanbin couldn’t think of a better scenario.

Hanbin was really in love.

He was throwing himself headfirst into the unknown with no back-up, no quickfire solution for if things go wrong. Jinhwan had the power to break his heart in seconds and ruin his life in moments but Hanbin found himself unafraid of it all, because he had faith. Faith in Jinhwan, but most importantly faith in himself that he was making the right decisions and bringing himself happiness. He had learned so much about who he was as a person in the last three months of being with Jinhwan, and maybe that was just the way it was with first loves. They would always be dear in your heart because they’re the people who start building up a part of you that you’ll finish by yourself after a long, long time. Jinhwan had definitely finished building the foundation of that part now, because Hanbin felt strong. He felt sure. 

The winter formal was over now. The preparation of a lifetime for the event had come to an end the instant it finished, with Yunhyeong holding Chanwoo’s hand as they headed back to the former’s dorm for food and teasing quarrels and cuddles, with Donghyuk and Hoseok having an overly emotional farewell with cheek pecks and one too many hugs, with Jiwon half-asleep and burbling nonsense about how utterly gorgeous and perfect Junhoe was as the guy in question drove him home, and with Jinhwan kissing Hanbin softly in the dark on the hood of the elder’s car, under the stars.

That page of their life had come to its last full stop.

So where to next?

 

 

 


End file.
